What'sHerName
THE CASTAWAY Marguerite de La Rocque
Published: 1 June 2026 at 13:39 Europe/London
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Episode notes
[audio updated afternoon of 6/01] Marooned on a frigid island in 1641, a young French woman single-handedly fought off polar bears, starvation, and loneliness, buried her lover, her maidservant, and her newborn child, and spent almost two full years completely alone -- except, of course, for the 100,000 demons whose screams were her nightly companions. That she lived through it all is a miracle - and a mystery: How did Marguerite de La Rocque survive the infamous "Isle of Demons" - and how much of this enigmatic tale can we ever actually know?
Olivia interviews Allegra Goodman, author of the award-winning historical novel Isola.
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